Saturday 16th May 2009 @ Thekla, Bristol

There’s no support band tonight, no warm-up, nothing, but who needs it when the atmosphere is already this electric? Thekla has been sold out for weeks ahead of tonight’s visit of electro-pop pioneers Metric and now everyone has eagerly crammed themselves into Thekla’s sweaty hull and you can almost taste the anticipation.

Under dim, blue lights, our four favourite Canadians emerge slowly to a deafening roar from the crowd. Metric break us in slowly with the sobering Twilight Galaxy before they unleash the almighty Gold Guns Girls; a rip-roaring, electro-pop opera that could bring a stadium to its knees, let alone the intimate Thekla.

Hit after hit is torn through by a band that can only go at full throttle and the hysterical crowd lap it up. Tracks like Stadium Love and Empty carry such a punch that after all the frantic pogoing and moshing, you feel like a boxer reeling from a knock-out blow. Emily Haines spurs the crowd on though. She is the ultimate front woman, beautiful, talented, passionate and intelligent, and sparkles like a dream figure in her sequined dress at the front of the stage. She thrives on the attention and never misses an opportunity to pep things up and inspire even more dancing in front of her.

Jimmy Shaw on guitar too, with his catalogue of irresistible riffs, hooks and brutal guitar solos that sound like he’s grown an extra pair of hands, prove more than enough ammunition for the audience to get over-excited about. It’s inspiring stuff and it’s not going unnoticed; I haven’t heard the Thekla cheer and roar this loud is quite some time.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Jimmy before the gig and I asked him what was new for Metric on Fantasies, their forth and latest album; “Thematically, rather than dwelling on the past and listing the problems with the world, we wanted to make a record that looked to the future and embraced and encouraged that spirit to dream and the power of imagination…everything amazing in the world started just a fantasy in someone’s head.” It’s an exciting and inspiring new ethos for the band to follow but during the gig, Emily can’t help herself by having a little ‘state of the world’ rant between songs, but at least it’s satisfying to see Metric have still got the passion after over ten years of being together.

Alongside the new material, Metric wheel out a couple of old favourites like Dead Disco that still feel as fresh as ever and for the demanded encore, the crowd join in a spunky rendition of the band’s most successful track, Monster Hospital, before ending the night on a much more intimate note: “While we were recording, we had something called the Campfire Test where we played the songs with just an acoustic guitar to make sure that when all the other instruments and production were taken away, the songs would still work and they could stand on their own.” Metric have the ability to blow minds with their stadium-ready rock but they show they still retain that ability to touch you with an intimate, campfire performance of Live It Out.

I ended my little chat with Jimmy by asking him as a musician, what was his biggest ambition, his greatest goal, his ultimate fantasy; “A dream of mine was to play alongside The Rolling Stones, but we’ve already done that now…actually, something we have talked as a band is to do the first gig in space! That would be insane. I guess we need to get Banson on the phone!” Wow, now there’s something to aim for!

www.ilovemetric.com

Matt Whittle